Rayak
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Rayak Arabic رياق |
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| State : |
 Lebanon
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| Governorate : | Bekaa | ||
| Coordinates : | 33 ° 51 ′ N , 36 ° 1 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 928 m | ||
| Residents : | 16,000 | ||
| Population density : | 16,000 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Time zone : | UTC + 2 | ||
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Rayak Arabic رياقis a place in the east of Lebanon , Bekaa governorate . Rayak has about 16,000 inhabitants and is the 13th largest city in Lebanon. Further names of the city are Riyāq and Riyaq .
Infrastructure
In Rayak there is a Christian majority of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church . There is also a hospital , schools and an airport of the Lebanese Air Force , Rayak Air Base ( ICAO code: OLRA).
history
Rayak used to be a railway junction on the routes between Damascus on the one hand and Aleppo and Beirut on the other. This is where the standard gauge line from Aleppo ended and met the Lebanon line with a gauge of 1050 mm . Because of the different track widths, all goods had to be reloaded and all passengers had to transfer. The Lebanon Railway has been running since 1895, and the Rayak – Aleppo connection began in 1906. In Aleppo there was a connection to the Baghdad Railway . The Lebanon Railway was destroyed on the Lebanese side during the Lebanese civil war between 1975 and 1990.
During the 2006 Lebanon War , Rayak was bombed by Israeli fighter planes.
In April 2005, Rayak was evacuated by Syrian troops stationed in Lebanon since 1976. This completed the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.